Consuming Bread and Wine
Jesus compared Himself to bread at the Last Supper—“Take, eat; this is my body”[1]—but that wasn’t the first time He’d done so. When He fed the five thousand in John 6 He made a similar statement. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”[2]
John, however, connected one more thing to Jesus’s body or flesh at the very beginning of his Gospel. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”[3] Jesus was God’s words coalesced into human form. He told His followers they couldn’t possibly live on ordinary bread alone. They would need to feast on “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”[4]
Equating Himself to bread was one thing, but how astounded His disciples must have been when He gave them the wine and said, “This is My blood”[5]! As we noted in “Recognizing Bread and Wine,” blood had always been forbidden. “The life of the flesh is in the blood,”[6] and God didn’t want His people taking in any life but that of His appointed Lamb.
Eating and Drinking
Which brings us to a second question. Why does Scripture present Jesus as both food and drink? Maybe it has to do with the different ways we process them.
Whether we eat or drink, we begin by purposely taking something into our mouths and swallowing it. Digestion and absorption follow pretty much automatically after that. The main difference between the two processes is eating requires the additional step of chewing.
Chewing on Jesus as nourishment means taking the time to consider, ponder, study on His words. Reflecting on His wisdom helps with the process of swallowing (or accepting) it as truth. This rolling around of His word in our hearts and minds makes digesting and absorbing them much easier.
Drinking, on the other hand, requires fewer conscious steps. What pours from the cup settles into our stomachs, absorbing more quickly into our bodies. I see “drinking” Jesus’s life as more akin to how we become friends with each other. Have you ever spent so much time in someone’s company that, without hardly trying, you start talking and acting like him or her?
We drink in Jesus by spending enough time in His presence, experiencing His goodness, kindness, meekness and peace, that we start behaving as He does.
Each time we raise up bread and cup, we remember we’re to feed on His words as diligently and regularly as we do ordinary food. We hear Him invite us to drink in His presence–letting His life settle within us until His life and character permeate ours.
What better bread could there be? What sweeter draught could pass our lips?
How about you? What do you contemplate when you receive communion?
[1] Matthew 26:26, [2] John 6:51, [3] John 1:14, [4] Matthew 4:4, [5] Matthew 26:28, [6] Leviticus 17:11 (all in NKJV)
Terry is a writer and speaker who loves gathering clues about God from His Word and creation. She wants to help God’s people grow in wonder, appreciation and understanding of Him. She loves finding fresh ways to approach Scripture so we all expand our ability to both apply and share what we’ve learned.
I appreciate this teaching. Such good insight you have given us. The Word requires us to study and ponder – this is where some Christians might slip up because this requires intentional action from us. We get the fellowship part because that is so much easier. Such a good analogy of communion. Eat (chew – study the scriptures ) and drink (swallow – have fellowship with Christ through worship.)
So true, JoAnne. Sometimes it feels easier to let someone else do the work of eating for us even though we’d be repulsed at the idea of swallowing pre-digested natural food. When we skip steps, we lose some of the value of the food and drink He offers us. Thanks for taking the time to post a comment!